--- title: Is Clemson an ACC Contender? Where Dabo Swinney Needs Progress description: Clemson beat Charleston Southern 37-0 on Saturday but the focus isn't so much the score as the Tigers' form. We take a look. image: https://clemsonkickoff.com/hubfs/1clemson-37-chas-so-0-2026-tigers-football-podcast-cfb.png --- [Skip to content](https://clemsonkickoff.com/news/is-clemson-an-acc-contender-where-dabo-swinney-needs-progress#main-content) [![Death Valley Intro Outline 2](https://clemsonkickoff.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Death%20Valley%20Intro%20Outline%202.png?width=600&height=209&name=Death%20Valley%20Intro%20Outline%202.png)](https://clemsonkickoff.com/) - [Recent Episodes](https://clemsonkickoff.com/news/tag/reign-supreme-alway-podcast) - [Tiger Trends](https://clemsonkickoff.com/news/tag/tiger-trends) - [Get Alerts](https://clemsonkickoff.com/news-alerts-clemson-sports) - [Podcast](https://goodpods.com/podcasts/reign-supreme-alway-sports-in-clemson-240902) Open main navigation Close main navigation - [Recent Episodes](https://clemsonkickoff.com/news/tag/reign-supreme-alway-podcast) - [Tiger Trends](https://clemsonkickoff.com/news/tag/tiger-trends) - [Get Alerts](https://clemsonkickoff.com/news-alerts-clemson-sports) - [Podcast](https://goodpods.com/podcasts/reign-supreme-alway-sports-in-clemson-240902) - [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/clemsonkickoff) [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/clemsonkickoff) # What time is Clemson kickoff?  **• Virginia Tech at Clemson, Saturday, Oct. 24, 7 p.m., ESPN • Clemson at Florida St., Saturday, Oct. 31, 7 p.m., ACCN** October 19, 2026 | 12:15 AM # Is Clemson an ACC Contender? Where Dabo Swinney Needs Progress [Staff Report](https://clemsonkickoff.com/news/author/staff-report) Share: [envelope icon](mailto:?body=https://clemsonkickoff.com/news/is-clemson-an-acc-contender-where-dabo-swinney-needs-progress) [Twitter icon](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https://clemsonkickoff.com/news/is-clemson-an-acc-contender-where-dabo-swinney-needs-progress) [facebook-f icon](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https://clemsonkickoff.com/news/is-clemson-an-acc-contender-where-dabo-swinney-needs-progress) [linkedin-in icon](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://clemsonkickoff.com/news/is-clemson-an-acc-contender-where-dabo-swinney-needs-progress) Hey college football fans – Clemson’s 37-0 win Saturday over Charleston Southern didn’t tell us much about the Tigers, but a few details were noticeable. Dabo Swinney and Chad Morris need to find solutions for improved play along the offensive line and at quarterback, and with no midseason transfer portal the progress must come from within. A key stretch of five remaining conference games will tell us where Clemson fits into the ACC football standings. Daniel Shirley and Bill Zimmerman take a look at the second half of the 2026 season for Tigers football and close things out by trying to answer the question: What word would you use to fill in the blank for “\_\_\_\_\_ Is The Standard” for this season’s Clemson football team? We're glad you found us -- y'all be sure to watch on [YouTube.com/ClemsonKickoff](http://youtube.com/clemsonkickoff) so you can share your reactions in the comments, and find us on social media @ClemsonKickoff! ## [Click here for our free Substack newsletter](https://clemsonkickoff.substack.com/subscribe?next=https%3A%2F%2Fclemsonkickoff.substack.com%2F&utm_source=profile-page&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=substack_profile&just_signed_up=true) ▫️See bonus analysis that isn't in our podcast    ▫️Get alerts whenever we post new episodes ![2026 schedule horizontal (2)-2](https://clemsonkickoff.com/hs-fs/hubfs/2026%20schedule%20horizontal%20(2)-2.png?width=960&height=282&name=2026%20schedule%20horizontal%20(2)-2.png)   [Reign Supreme Alway podcast](https://clemsonkickoff.com/news/tag/reign-supreme-alway-podcast) ## More Clemson Tigers Analysis [![Clemson RB Gideon Davidson is shown scoring a touchdown at Cal on Friday night with the headlines "Guts? Check." and "Clemson 24, Cal 10"](https://clemsonkickoff.com/hs-fs/hubfs/clemson-24-cal-10-THUMB-2026.png?height=200&name=clemson-24-cal-10-THUMB-2026.png)](https://clemsonkickoff.com/news/clemson-escapes-cal-with-win-now-big-test-vs.-miami-looms-large) ## [Clemson Escapes Cal with Win, Now Big Test vs. Miami Looms Large](https://clemsonkickoff.com/news/clemson-escapes-cal-with-win-now-big-test-vs.-miami-looms-large) September 27, 2026 | 6:33 PM Hey, college football fans -- Clemson got an inconvenient head start on CFB Week 4 but pulled out a... [Read more](https://clemsonkickoff.com/news/clemson-escapes-cal-with-win-now-big-test-vs.-miami-looms-large) [![Clemson QB Tait Reynolds in color against a duotone backdrop with the headline "A Win. Work to be Done. Clemson 22, Ga. Southern 7"](https://clemsonkickoff.com/hs-fs/hubfs/clemson-22-gaso-7-THUMB-2026.png?height=200&name=clemson-22-gaso-7-THUMB-2026.png)](https://clemsonkickoff.com/news/clemsons-week-2-win-why-dabo-swinneys-approach-isnt-working-yet) ## [Clemson’s Week 2 Win: Why Dabo Swinney’s Approach Isn’t Working Yet](https://clemsonkickoff.com/news/clemsons-week-2-win-why-dabo-swinneys-approach-isnt-working-yet) September 13, 2026 | 6:26 PM All right, college sports fans – Dabo Swinney’s Clemson football team showed some areas of... [Read more](https://clemsonkickoff.com/news/clemsons-week-2-win-why-dabo-swinneys-approach-isnt-working-yet) [![Clemson coach Dabo Swinney and UNC coach Bill Belichick against a decorative background of Death Valley and the headline Tigers Seek a Clean Win: Week 3, Clemson vs. UNC](https://clemsonkickoff.com/hs-fs/hubfs/unc-preview-THUMB-2026%20(1).png?height=200&name=unc-preview-THUMB-2026%20(1).png)](https://clemsonkickoff.com/news/clemsons-crucial-test-will-unc-upset-dabo-swinney-in-cfb-week-3) ## [Clemson's Crucial Test: Will UNC Upset Dabo Swinney in CFB Week 3?](https://clemsonkickoff.com/news/clemsons-crucial-test-will-unc-upset-dabo-swinney-in-cfb-week-3) September 17, 2026 | 5:03 PM Dabo Swinney’s Clemson football team needs to start getting the easy things right in order for the... [Read more](https://clemsonkickoff.com/news/clemsons-crucial-test-will-unc-upset-dabo-swinney-in-cfb-week-3) [Follow us on Facebook](https://youtube.com/clemsonkickoff) [X Twitter icon](https://www.x.com/clemsonkickoff) [linkedin-in icon](https://www.linkedin.com/company/clemsonkickoff) [Follow us on Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/clemsonkickoff) [Follow us on Facebook](https://www.instagram.com/clemsonkickoff) - [Recent Episodes](https://clemsonkickoff.com/news/tag/reign-supreme-alway-podcast) - [Tiger Trends](https://clemsonkickoff.com/news/tag/tiger-trends) - [Get Alerts](https://clemsonkickoff.com/news-alerts-clemson-sports) - [Podcast](https://goodpods.com/podcasts/reign-supreme-alway-sports-in-clemson-240902) --- [![](https://clemsonkickoff.com/hs-fs/hubfs/No-Szn%20Logo%20Std%20Gray.png?width=500&height=500&name=No-Szn%20Logo%20Std%20Gray.png)](https://clemsonkickoff.com) Copyright © 2026, Clemson Kickoff ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Staff Report", "url" : "https://clemsonkickoff.com/news/author/staff-report" }, "dateModified" : "2026-10-19T16:23:16.696Z", "datePublished" : "2026-10-19T04:15:39.000Z", "headline" : "Is Clemson an ACC Contender? Where Dabo Swinney Needs Progress", "image" : [ "https://clemsonkickoff.com/hubfs/1clemson-37-chas-so-0-2026-tigers-football-podcast-cfb.png" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://clemsonkickoff.com/news/is-clemson-an-acc-contender-where-dabo-swinney-needs-progress", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://clemsonkickoff.com/hubfs/No-Szn%20Logo%20Std%20Gray.png" } } } ```